Adolf Wölfli: writings

Cradle 1908-1912 Geographic 1912-1916 Songs 1917-1922 Album 1924-1928 Funeral 1928-1930

Adolf Wölfli (1864-1930)

Writings 1908-1930

In 1974, the Swiss curator Harald Szeemann and Elka Spoerri, the curator of the Adolf Wölfli Foundation, started working on the edition of Adolf Wölfli's writings. Although it was known that Wölfli had filled thousend of pages, they discovered only now that his enormous output formed a entire whole.

Adolf Wölfli, "The Dragon Rock-Trimbach Railway Foot and Traffic Bridge in China," 1909
From "From the Cradle to the Grave"

Adolf Wölfli started in 1908 to write down the story of his life using a complex web of texts, drawings, collages and musical compositions. After a few lines, this autobiography becomes a imaginary travelogue which culminates into the founding of the St.Adolf-Giant-Creation.

Wölfli dived his imaginary autobiography into five parts:

1) From the Cradle to the Grave (1908-1912)
2) Geographic and Algebraic Books (1912-1916)
3) Books with Songs and Dances (1917-1922)
4) Album Books with Dances and Marches (1924-1928)
5) Funeral March (1928-1930)